Facing a criminal charge for driving while intoxicated/impaired (DWI) can be scary and overwhelming. When you’re convicted of such an offense, you may have to deal with serious legal consequences, such as possible jail time, suspension or revocation of the driver’s license, payment of expensive fines, and the installation of interlock ignition devices.
In addition to that, dealing with criminal trials can be confusing. If you don’t know what to do and where to turn for help, it can leave you with nothing but losing your chance to get out of this trouble.
Fortunately, winning DWI trials can be possible. If you’re interested in doing so, here are the key ways:
1. Hire A DWI Lawyer
When it comes to criminal charges, having a criminal defense lawyer by your side is extremely important, especially when it comes to protecting your rights and interests. They’ll be there to represent you in court and do their best to ensure you don’t get convicted of the offense. Aside from legal representation, they’ll also take care of all the paperwork required to begin the trial proceedings. This means they’ll file every single legal document available, know the right experts to work with, gather and challenge every piece of evidence, and many more.
Thus, if you’re looking for a good DWI lawyer for your situation, don’t hesitate to look around. During the interview, ask how many trials they’ve done along with the results. That way, you’ll know how experienced and skilled they are in handling DWI cases. For more information, you can check out websites, like DWIGuy.com, to help you with the hiring decision.
2. Challenge The Legality Of A DWI Checkpoint Traffic Stop
Typically, most DWI checkpoints are done on a busy road during weekends and holidays. However, it’s important to note that not all traffic stops are legal. Under the law, the police officer should have probable cause to believe that you committed a DWI offense before they can ask you to pull over and get investigated.
Hence, if you believe that the stop is improper due to a lack of probable cause, you may challenge it by questioning if the traffic stop was legal in the first place. If it’s ruled to be improper, any piece of evidence gathered against you will become inadmissible in court since they’re obtained as a result of an illegal stop or search.
3. Raise As Defense The Failure Of The Arresting Officer To Read The Miranda Rights
Another way of winning a DWI trial is to raise the defense that the arresting officer failed to read the Miranda rights during your arrest. Primarily, the Miranda rights are verbal warnings issued by the police officer to a person under their investigative custody. These can include the right to remain silent, the right to refuse to answer the police’s questions, and the right to a competent and independent legal counsel.
In other words, without the Miranda warnings, any statements you’ve made during the questioning can’t be used as evidence against you in court. Not only that, but any evidence obtained in violation of your Miranda rights can’t also be admitted as evidence.
In order to properly raise this as a defense, you may need to find the best legal services from a reputable lawyer to help you. This is because they can examine the facts of your case and help find any information that can prove that the Miranda rules were improperly followed by the arresting police officer.
4. Attack The Evidence Obtained Against You
If you’re charged with a DWI offense, the police officer has obtained sufficient grounds to prove the charge against you. However, it doesn’t mean that you can’t attack this evidence and win your DWI trial.
Here’s how you can attack the pieces of evidence collected against you:
- Defective Or Unreliable Breathalyzer Device – In most cases, administering a breathalyzer test can be used to determine the suspected driver’s blood alcohol content (BAC). However, you should understand that these devices only provide accurate test results when they’re properly administered and maintained. Therefore, if you believe that the tests are inaccurate, talk to a lawyer to assist you in challenging the defectiveness or unreliability of the breathalyzer equipment.
For instance, a representative from the device company will be required to prove the accuracy of the equipment. In case they can’t confirm the validity of the test, you can get the trial dismissed in court.
- Unreliable Field Sobriety Tests – Another test used when you’re a suspected DWI offender is the field sobriety tests. This series of tests can be used to know whether you’re intoxicated or impaired with alcohol, drugs, and many more.
For example, if you’ve failed to walk in a straight line after being told to do so, the police officer may have the evidence to charge you with a DWI offense. However, not all field sobriety tests are reliable due to some factors that can cause inaccurate results. Because of such, it’s best to hire a lawyer who can help you challenge the unreliability of the tests so you may win the trial.
- Rising Blood Alcohol Content Defense – To avoid a DWI charge, your blood alcohol content shouldn’t go beyond the legal limit, which depends on the state you’re in. However, having a higher BAC doesn’t always mean you’re guilty of driving while intoxicated/impaired. This is where the concept of rising blood alcohol content defense comes into play.
Generally, you need 45 minutes to three hours before the alcohol can be fully absorbed by your body. If you’ve been pulled over on the road and have to perform a breath test, you may have a higher level of alcohol on your breath even if the alcohol isn’t fully absorbed into their system. Given the time of the last drink and the time the test was administered, it’s possible that the driver wasn’t over the legal BAC limit during the pullover.
Thus, if you’re using this strategy as a defense, consult a lawyer who knows exactly how the science of alcohol absorption and breath testing works.
Bottom Line
Indeed, defending a driving while intoxicated/impaired offense is never easy. With the legalities involved in a DWI case, it’s important that you know and understand the things mentioned above if you want to win the trial proceedings.
Fortunately, dealing with a DWI trial doesn’t need to be challenging as long as you hire a good criminal defense lawyer who can provide you with strong legal representation. Doing so increases the chances of you winning your case and get your normal life back in no time.
